Tuesday, April 15, 2025
In the midst of the intense, now annual portal, NIL, madcap player acquisition process, the Providence College basketball program announced the signing of Stefan Vaaks, a 19-year-old, 6’6”, 190 lb guard/wing from Estonia.
In the current state of affairs in Big Time College basketball, this intense competition for talent calls upon whatever resources, ingenuity, and creativity you can muster to achieve that goal.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE — SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
Coach Kim English and his staff, it appears, have been able to identify and engage one of the more promising young European talents from the Baltic States.
During my time scouting with the Dallas Mavericks, our main European scout was a friend of mine from Lithuania, Alvydas Pazdrazdis. So after I was able to locate some film on Vaaks, I called up Alvydas (who now works for the Knicks doing NBA pro scouting), who told me he didn’t have any first hand knowledge of Vaaks, but put me in touch with a friend of his, Gert Kullamae, who is a legendary player/coach from Estonia who he was sure would be better able to help me with his opinion of him as a player.
First of all, here is some statistical background on Stefan Vaaks in FIBA Euro Cup:
15.2 PPG; 3 Rebs.; 3.4 assists; 38.6% on 3’s; on 7.2 attempts/ game.
The European system has many layers to it and can get a little complicated to explain, but suffice it to say that Coach English was probably impressed with the level of commitment that a player of Vaaks’ caliber must demonstrate to participate in that process. For instance, Gert Kullamae informed me that at a young age in early high school, Vaaks was signed by a club team in Spain, Madrid Estudiantes, where he spent about 3/4 playing against some of the better competition in his age group in Europe before returning to now play for Kalev/Carmo in Estonia.
Watching him on film, like many of the young Europeans, he appeared to have a firm grasp of the fundamentals of the game. He was able to shoot the ball very well with excellent mechanics, whether it was after moving without the ball on a catch and shoot, after setting his man up creating space off the dribble by a crossover, or a quick dribble either right or left, or pulling confidently up on a break for a 3-pointer with the defense retreating. He also showed a very good handle for a player his size that he used to execute some good decisions on pick and roll situations, which Kullamae confirmed for me stating that for Stefan’s age he plays with a high basketball IQ.
“He knows how to play, and he plays the right way; he wants to be a creator.” I’m sure that part of his game should be a welcome addition to the program since, for most of last year, team chemistry was elusive.
Along the lines of his skill set, Vaaks has mentioned that one of the things that attracted him to Providence was the Coach’s promise to put him in a position to help him develop as a primary ball handler at times as well as a wing. He’s also stated that what he appreciated in the recruiting process that PC identified him early and that they were fine with him delaying his arrival to participate in two important events before heading over to Rhode Island – the Adidas Euro Camp May 31st-June 2 (attended by every NBA team), and the FIBA EuroBasket August 27-September 14, where he has a chance as a member of his National team to play against such European stars as the Joker, Giannis, and Luka.
Playing with and against such a high level competition is always a great thing for a young player, but the only negative might be delaying his adjustment period since now in college ball, it’s standard that the other new and returning players will be working out and practicing with each other for most of the summer. I mention that since it’s one of the things a lot of Europeans have to adjust to coming over here is the physicality of the American game generally, and the Big East specifically.
He has excellent size for the position, appears to be a decent athlete, is very skilled, especially when it comes to shooting with range, can get to the hoop, knows how to play, and another player Coach English has acquired that can aid in the development of Oswin Erhunmwunse by being able to execute on the pick and roll. We’ll have to see how he adjusts on the defensive end of the floor, but usually, guys with that kind of feel find a way to be a net positive when they’re on the floor.
It looks like Vaaks has the potential to be a great out-of-the-box get by English and his staff.
Kevin Stacom is one of the most accomplished Providence College basketball players in history. An All-American at Providence, Stacom was a second-round NBA draft pick, played six years in the NBA, and won an NBA championship as a member of the Boston Celtics.
After his playing career, Stacom coached at the college level and served as an NBA scout for nearly 30 years for the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks.
Related Articles
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
